Have you ever thought of doing a challenging job abroad? Would you like to use your professional skills to improve somebody’s life? Are you willing to leave your family for several months to go and work in a developing country? Do you sympathize with the causes of MSF?

If you answered “yes” to at least one of these questions, read further!

With ongoing conflicts around the world as well as the occurrence of natural disasters, the need for mental health professionals with experience in dealing with trauma has increased in MSF projects.

The main task of mental health professionals during their mission with MSF is training local specialists in crisis intervention and psycho-social first aid. Together with the local staff, they attempt to help victims come to terms with traumatic experiences after war and displacement or deportation, by means of counseling, modeling, and art therapy, as well as through occupational therapy.

Examples of tasks that a psychologist would be involved in at the field level include

Define the orientation and content of therapeutic activities and work on the sustainability of psycho-social programs.

Supervise the work of national psychologists, psycho-social workers, and national counsellors in the mental health centres (MHC) in the field.

Co-ordinate with the national psychologist the psycho-education component (including training, material used, and development of material).

Supervise the national psychologist in workshops and group activities developed on specific topics (i.e., conflict resolution) in the community.

Ensure national psychologists adhere to the charter of professional ethics (relating to confidentiality, appropriate sexual behavior, etc).

Through the development of the activities be aware of identifying specific issues that may need to be addressed, and areas where collaboration with the medical team may be important (i.e., reproductive health).

Assist national psychologists, psycho-social workers, and national counsellors in the MHC and provide them with training through clinical supervision, seminars, workshops, etc.

Facilitate case studies discussion with the psychologists in the field.

Implement and monitor the use of psychotropic drugs for the severe cases that we encounter.

Facilitate/organize the collection of data, its analysis and inclusion in monthly reports.